Day by Day

[Soldier4Christ]

"Strength for the Soul"

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Romans 7:24
   

Have you ever felt like that? Do you ever share this dark and dismal feeling of the apostle Paul? Do you ever feel that life is a fizzle, a failure, a fraud? Does your conscience nag and gnaw at you or beat you down with a long list of failures, sins, and shortcomings?

Like Paul, we struggle with sin. We struggle with our “Old Adam,” as Martin Luther describes it. We review and reflect on this past week – the encouraging word we didn’t speak, the ugly gossip or profanity that came from our mouth, the unkind thoughts and words and deeds. “What I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing” (Romans 7:19).

There is help and healing. There is the gift of forgiveness. There is strength for the soul. It is the good news of God’s glorious Gospel. Let’s go to church and bask in the blessings of this Gospel! The cross of Christ will be preached and proclaimed. Jesus died there for you and for me. That message will lift us up and give strength to our souls.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Living Letters"

You show that you are a letter from Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:3
   

Our function as Christ’s followers in the world is to serve as His witnesses. While it is true that the Gospel is the only means the Holy Spirit uses to convert sinners, it is also true that people are attracted to Christ as they see Him at work in His followers. Christ speaks of us as being the light of the world, and He encourages us to let the light of our Christian faith shine before all people.

Scripture also reminds us that as Christians we are living letters that others read. Our speech and conduct, the principles for which we stand, the ethics we follow, the hopes and ideals we express, and whatever else constitutes our life expresses whether Christ lives in us and whether we live in Him. People study our lives as they read a book. And what they see and hear attracts them to Christ or repels them from Christ.

Being disciples of Christ goes far beyond attending worship services and contributing from our material wealth for the work of the church. By God’s grace it involves giving ourselves to Christ, dedicating our lives to Him, and glorifying Him in all we think and say and do.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Coward or Hero?"

For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” Mark 6:18
   

The world of John the Baptist was anything but rosy. The spiritual leaders were corrupt; the occupation troops were oppressive; and King Herod was living in flagrant adultery.

If immorality cannot be tolerated in low places, the certainly it cannot be condoned in high places. With privilege comes responsibility.

The will and the Word of God had touched the heart and soul of John. He could not remain silent. He spoke out against the evils of his day, though it meant imprisonment and death in a foul Roman dungeon. Thomas Carlyle said that everyone must answer the question: “Wilt thou be a hero or a coward?” Perhaps we all have a bit of both in us.

We live in a day when circumstances are not always conducive to decency and truth. Do we remain strangely silent in the face of the tremendous racial, social, moral, and spiritual problems of our day? As those who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, do we have a testimony to share? Do we have the courage to stand for the truth regardless of the consequences?

[Soldier4Christ]

"Going Ahead"

"The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8
   

“There is a long detour on Highway 18. Why don’t you take 35 over to 90 instead? You’ll probably make better time.”

Someone has been there ahead of us and tells us of the detours. So too the Lord goes before us and knows what lies ahead. Whether it is surgery, a job change, or continuing an education, the Lord goes ahead of us. He is already there, preparing the doctors, filling the new office with His presence, softening the hearts of the teachers.

When we are there, He will see us through the hard times, directing us around or through the detours. He will bring us to our goal.

We trust in Jesus’ ability to do this because He has already gone before us to the cross. He has taken the punishment that should have rightly been ours for the sins we commit. He has endured more pain and sorrow than we will ever face. He can tell us about the detours and distresses of life from His own experience, then add His love and direction to it.

Without Christ’s strength and guidance offered through His Word and sacrament, how could we ever endure the changes and challenges of life? With it, we can do all things.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Some Rush and Some See"

"Look at the birds of the air … See how the lilies of the field grow." Matthew 6:26, 28
   

Once on a trail we met some hikers whose main purpose seemed to be how quickly they could walk those miles. We wondered how much they actually saw as they rushed along. Oh, no one could miss the big views. But what about the little beauties God created – the wildflowers, the birds, the varieties of mushrooms?

Some people seem to be that way on the trail of life. They rush from one experience to another, demanding that everything be exciting.

But what about the little things of life? And what about the fact that life is not always exciting? What about those times in life when we agonize with pain or heartache?

That’s when we need to appreciate the little beauties God gives us – the smile of a stranger, the listening ear of a friend, quiet conversation with a loved one, a delicate flower, a gentle rain, a glorious sunset.

Exciting experiences can also be gifts from God, but those are usually few and far between. But the little things are always here to encourage us if we only take time to see them. Most of all, Jesus is with us always, forgiving, comforting, guiding as our beautiful Savior.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Behold, Your Mother"

When Jesus saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother!” John 19:26-27
   

Jesus not only died on the cross for our sins, He also exhibited the kind of life God wants us to live. There is no better demonstration of the meaning of the Fourth Commandment than the touching example of Jesus’ love and respect for His mother just moments before His death. Seeing her there before Him He commended her into the care and keeping of His beloved friend and disciple, John, who cared for her from then on.

All of us have parents. There comes a time, to be sure, when “a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife” (Genesis 2:24). But we don’t stop being our parents’ children when we grow up and leave home. Nor does God’s command that we honor our parents have any time limit on it.

Today God blesses us by letting us have our parents with us longer and longer. May the example of Jesus’ concern for His mother, even while dying for us, motivate us not to forget but to honor our parents and elders in their declining years with our love and respect. God has added a special promise to those keeping this commandment.

[Soldier4Christ]

"The Priceless Christ"

You were bought at a price. 1 Corinthians 6:20
   

Have you ever considered the value of a human life? Have you ever thought about your true value? People are likely to forget this in our age of violence and killing. To some governments the lives of people are cheap and used or abused at will by those who are in power. In our country too many people forget the real value of life. And all of us at times fail to recognize our own true worth.

The Lord Jesus Christ – and thank God for that – understood the value of a soul. So clearly was this impressed on Him that He was willing to sacrifice Himself that our life, not just our body, but our whole being, might be redeemed by God. We were bought not with gold or silver, but with the holy, precious blood shed by God’s innocent Son. Our God and Creator, who is beyond and above all values, gave Himself that we might have everlasting life.

Priceless indeed is our Lord Jesus Christ! And we are priceless, too. All the wealth of the world is valueless when compared with a single soul. What dignity the priceless Christ bestows on the sons and daughters of clay! No human being, certainly no Christian, should ever again despise life, either one’s own or that of any other. We should consider how expensive we are, how much was paid for us. And when we realize that, a most wonderful confidence and self-respect comes to us. We will regard every other human being with the same respect, knowing that all are bought with the price of the priceless Christ.

[Soldier4Christ]

"The Broken Watch"

"Could you not keep watch for one hour?" Mark 14:37
   

Years ago, a church in California hit on an idea to increase church attendance. It advertised that one of the services each Sunday would last fewer than 30 minutes. They were right. Attendance did increase.

Nothing in Scripture suggests the proper length of a worship service, but most today are in the one-hour range. Just because you occupy a church pew for an hour on Sunday mornings doesn’t mean that you have kept watch with Jesus. What might distract you? Planning next week’s menu? Letting your mind wander during the sermon? Anticipating the excitement of the afternoon’s football game on TV? Reflecting on last week’s business deals? Preparing a mental outline for the research paper due next week?

Jesus’ question, “Could you not keep watch for one hour?” is just as appropriate for us as it was for the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest and crucifixion. If our answer is an embarrassing no, we pray for forgiveness and also ask for alertness and concentration in the future. No matter how long your worship service is, use the time to hear God’s Word, pray, and sing praises.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Clay Pots"

We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7
   

Paul had just told the Corinthian Christians that God, who had made the light to shine out of darkness, had now shined into their hearts with the glorious Gospel of His Son. This, he said, was their greatest treasure. Then he is quick to add: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay” – the ordinary, unadorned crockery that was very much in evidence in every ancient home. The jars were useful but were seldom an item of art or beauty.

Why this language? To remind them (and us) that the power of the Gospel lies in the God-given treasure (His life-giving Word) and not in its frail and fragile containers – not in you and me who are merely the conveyors of the good news of His saving love. We are merely vessels. Pots! But we are pots that carry treasure of inestimable worth.

Not our eloquence, not our personality, not our winsomeness! But as Paul says elsewhere, it is the Gospel of Christ, and nothing else, that is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). May we both hold and share that precious treasure!

[Soldier4Christ]

"Christian Concern"

"I will bless you … and you will be a blessing." Genesis 12:2
   

All of us heed the flashing lights and siren of a speeding ambulance. We pray that the patient receives prompt medical help and recovers quickly. Our Christian faith teaches us to have sympathy for the sick and injured. Jesus Himself taught concern and compassion for the needy.

Heathen religions demonstrate little regard for the afflicted. The ancient Greeks murdered deformed babies; other cultures eliminated their sick and aged. But because of the influence of a Christian woman named Fabiola, who lived in Rome in A.D. 390, the first public hospitals were established. Since then, Christians, recognizing their great responsibilities toward the suffering, have united their efforts to provide health care.Most church bodies today support agencies of mercy and offer assistance to the physically and mentally disabled, the sick and dying, aged, homeless, needy, and abused. Jesus, the Savior of sinners, is primarily revealed as the true healer for life’s desperate afflictions. Only He can cure our souls and make us right before God. Christians are to be generous in their support of healing ministries – out of concern for the spiritual and human needs of the helpless.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Sons and Daughters of the King"

Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17
   

There is a legend about a king who was trying to solve the problems of a grubby and unhappy village. The village people were always bickering and quarreling with each other. The King came up with a plan. He issued this proclamation. “Somehow, at birth, there was switch in babies, and my son or daughter is living in this village. I will be back to claim the child.”

Life began to change. Each family wondered whether among its children might be a prince or princess. Parents became more patient and understanding. Children were treated with love and care. The dreary, unhappy village began to flourish, and it became a pleasant place to live.

We are all sons and daughters of the King. Remembering that everyone is the creation of God and that He has sent His Son so all may be saved, might we not treat each other differently? Living is not always an easy task. There are schedules to meet, chores to complete, and daily consideration of the needs of others above our own to regard. To maintain mutually fulfilling relationships takes effort and patience. Remember, the King is returning to claim His children – each of us.

[Soldier4Christ]

"The Right Reason"

"If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him." John 14:23
   

It is simple to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Our motives are not always pleasing to the Lord. They may be polluted with selfishness. "What's in it for me?" "Maybe she will help me later." "I will make a big impression."

Why do we try to do God's will? What motivates us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind? What is our motivation for loving our neighbor?

We love God because He first loved us. It was not possible for us to love Him, for we were dead in trespasses and sins. "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:.

We respond to God's love by keeping His commandments, by doing His will. His death and resurrection motivate us to present ourselves to Him in a life of service. We live a Christ-pleasing life because we love the Lord Jesus, who first loved us.

May His love motivate us in all that we do, think, and say!

[Soldier4Christ]

"Campaign of Whispers"

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Psalm 32:1
   

A commentator on national radio stated that if he were the prince of darkness, he would take over the country with a campaign of whispers. To the youth he would whisper that the Bible is a myth, that what is bad is good, and what is good is outdated. He'd educate authors on how to make lurid literature exciting so anything else would appear boring. He would encourage the entertainment industry to produce more sexually explicit moves and television programs. With flattery and promises of power, he would get the courts to vote against God and in favor of pornography. "If I were Satan," he said, "I'd just keep on doing what he's doing, and the entire world would go to hell."

Into this world Christ came to release us from the influence of Satan. He is the Lamb who was slain to overcome the demon who wielded the power of death. On the cross of Calvary Christ gained our forgiveness. Is it any wonder that the psalmist speaks about the blessed happiness of the person who knows God's forgiveness?

To counteract the whisper campaign of Satan, we need what Saint Paul calls "the full armor of God," including: "the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:13, 16).

[Soldier4Christ]

"Are You Bored?"

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10
   

Are you bored? Usually at one time or another we get into a rut and life becomes dull and uninteresting.

Why? Is it the sameness of each day that gets us? We sleep, we eat, we work. That is today. Tomorrow will be the same thing over again, back to the same old grind. Some people dislike their work and can't wait for payday.

Perhaps that is the problem. Perhaps we ought to take another look, not at our job but at our selves. Perhaps we have forgotten that God wants us where we are because He has a special job for us to do. He has a life that we can touch when perhaps others could not.

Are you bored? Forget self. Turn to Christ, who says: "I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full." Turn to the cross because there the full life was made possible. The cross is the answer to life's boredom. Its vertical bar points us to God, and its horizontal bar points us to others.

[Soldier4Christ]

"Family Ties"

Do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
   

"God sets the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:6). Just now the family, with its values and purposes, is under grave threat. The notion of a mother-father-child relationship seems arbitrary and random to many, and they are not beyond testing different forms of relationships.

But there is nothing arbitrary about the Lord's determination to make the family the basic unit to protect, educate, and fulfill the solitary souls of this world. Others may abandon the family unit in favor of some broader social organization or even the concept of total independence of individual, but God knew and knows what He is doing. And when He determined to establish the family as the structure for the nurture and growth and fulfillment of souls, He created a workable and functional pattern to assist and encourage the welfare of His world.

Christians must invest effort and time in the strengthening of the family. We are in the world but not of it. Family is assailed in our modern culture, and preserving its significance and worth becomes more and more difficult. Christians need purposely to employ every means to keep the family strong and to use it to bring up children and preserve one another in the faith.